Government and AstraZeneca clash over Covid vaccines

On March 28, President Luis Abinader said that he was willing to take the conflict between the Dominican Government and the pharmaceutical company to international courts. AstraZeneca stating that the laboratory did not meet the delivery deadlines of almost nine million vaccines anticovid missing from a contract signed with the Dominican State in October 2020 for 10 million vaccinesat a unit cost of four dollars.

The British companyHe did not meet the deadlines, so, later he wants to deliver all the vaccines in a moment, and vaccines that are going to expire in six months”, the president stated at that time, even going so far as to talk about arbitration.

Subsequently, the Deputy Minister of Collective Health, Eladio Pérez, assured that the Government is in negotiations with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to replace the reception of the vaccines pending, for other medicines that are of benefit to the Dominican population.

“The conversations with AstraZeneca have been quite long. The proposal is that we can obtain other types of drugs from them, but they do not have the will to do business with us,” the official stated.

Among these drugs, Pérez highlighted products for cardiovascular problems, hypertension and diabetes.

Yesterday, the Minister of Public healthDaniel Rivera, confirmed that There are 19 drugs that are under discussion with the British pharmaceutical company and that appeals to the good will of the same so that the exchange of products is effective and of greater benefit for the Dominican population.

“As the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) has also declared, Dr. Senén Caba, was already in a meeting with AstraZeneca and so are we. I believe that there is a good will that a large part, or mainly, of what was going to be a vaccine, we have requested 19 products that range from hypertensives, for diabetes, for cholesterol, which are very necessary for our country, ”explained the official. .

Pharmaceutical issues statement

The pharmaceutical AstraZeneca claims to have complied with the terms and conditions of the contract signed with the Dominican Government in October 2020 for the acquisition of 10 million of its vaccine against COVID-19.

This is how it is stated in a statement that it sent to this medium, in which it indicates that it is ready to deliver the vaccines and that, since mid-2021 it has been working with the Government, which, in turn, has asked it to modify the volumes and delivery dates of the pending doses.

“Since June 2021, AstraZeneca has worked diligently to meet requests from the Government to modify the volumes and delivery dates of the pending doses, even when the company had the doses produced and ready to be delivered to the Dominican Republic. We also offered to deliver doses in 2023, when the country may require vaccines against COVID again”, says the pharmacist.

Minister clarifies the dates were kept

Rivera denied the allegation made by the pharmaceutical company AstraZenecawhere through a statement, it said that it was the Dominican Government who asked to change the delivery dates of the vaccines anticovid contracted in October 2020.

“We don’t change them. The date was the one that had to arrive and it did not arrive, and all the others arrived vaccines. So we couldn’t get the vaccines when they wanted, after all the vaccines”, affirmed the minister.

Rivera recalled that “The first vaccine that was purchased was AstraZeneca, but unfortunately, they did not comply and we had to buy the other vaccines.”

“They know well, it is a contract, it is a legal problem. By not complying, it was that we bought the other vaccines. Not arriving, the president (Abinader) quickly bought Sinovac and then Pfizer”, he clarified.

The official reiterated that “until now, the negotiations are to find a way to pass that on to other much-needed supplies for the country.”

Another situation that the minister alleged is that the Public Health warehouses are full and there is no space to store new vaccines.

CMD opina

The president of the Dominican Medical College (CMD), Senén Caba, understands that the Dominican Government must require the pharmaceutical AstraZeneca for breach of contract by not having sent the vaccines within the established period.

“It is opportune that this is the moment in which the Government demands compensation from that international monopoly for what they did not comply with and for the damages they caused us,” said Caba.

He said that the Medical College, at all times, supports any action that is aimed at demanding “from those large monopolies, from those large international vaccine clusters”, to return what they were paid for a service not received, alleging that It is a loss for Dominicans of around 24 million dollars.